Portsmouth confirm Diarra sale
Pompey confirm "exceptional" bid from Madrid for Lassana Diarra
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Wednesday, 17, Dec 2008 10:43
Portsmouth have confirmed they have received and accepted an "exceptional bid" from Real Madrid for highly-rated midfielder Lassana Diarra.
The 23-year-old joined Pompey from Arsenal in a deal believed to have been around £5 million in January 2008 - just six months after moving to the Gunners from Chelsea for around half that amount.
And it seems the south coast club have also cashed in on French international Diarra, who learned his trade as a holding midfielder as an understudy to countryman and former Real Madrid star Claude Makelele at Stamford Bridge.
The proposed deal with the Spanish champions is thought to be worth around £18 million to Portsmouth.
A club spokesman said: "We have always said that we would only allow our players to leave if we received an exceptional bid.
"We could not stand in the way of a move such as this for Lassana.
"It shows how far the club has come under the ownership of Alexandre Gaydamak when Real Madrid come in for one of our players."
Despite the impending sale, which will be confirmed when the transfer window opens on January 1st, Portsmouth say they have "already identified possible replacements" for the player, who has scored three goals in 30 appearances over the last 11 months.